Meet Our Team

Rabbi Eve Rudin, Director of Education, Youth and Families

Prior to joining the Larchmont Temple team, Rabbi Rudin served as the Director of the Congregational School at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City, the Director of Camp Excellence and Advancement at the Foundation for Jewish Camp, and served as the Director of NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth) and the URJ Kutz Camp for Reform Jewish teens for the URJ (Union for Reform Judaism). A product of the Reform Jewish movement, Eve graduated with a BA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and was awarded a Wexner Graduate Fellowship during her rabbinic studies at HUC-JIR where she was ordained in May 2000. Her undergraduate and graduate thesis work focused upon youth movements and camping, and she has spoken and presented at numerous conferences on experiential Jewish education, camping, faith development and youth mentorship.

Rabbi Rudin is married to Rabbi Elliott Kleinman and, together, they have three children: Emma, Avi and Shira.

Phil Aarons, Full-Time EducatorA graduate of the US Naval Academy with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Engineering and Soviet Studies, Phil served as a Commissioned officer in the US Navy for 7 years. Retiring as a Lieutenant Commander in 1984, he began his career as a Jewish educator in 1987 and has been sharing his expertise in teaching Hebrew reading, Torah & values, & Jewish history to our 3rd – 9th graders since 2000. Over the years, Phil has held the roles of part-time educator, assistant to our Director of Education and supplemental tutor for our B’nei Mitzah learners. He believes that people learn when they see how much you love Judaism and how much you love being in the classroom.

My name is Shoshy and I am a recent graduate of Barnard College, with a B.A. in physics. While in college, I did peer-to-peer tutoring, physics research, taught conflict resolution to local elementary school students, and was active in Hillel. I was especially involved in Kesher, the Reform community of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel, serving in leadership roles for multiple years. After spending so much time in Hillel, creating meaningful Jewish community, I made the leap to work on building Jewish community full-time and could not be more excited to work at Larchmont Temple and get to know the teens and the families here.

Discovering my passion and love of Judaism through involvement in Jewish youth groups in high school, I’m especially excited to work with LarFTY. If it wasn’t for my experience in youth groups, I probably would not have been involved in Hillel or working at a synagogue. I am looking forward to working with high school students to create meaningful Jewish experiences that they can take with them the rest of their lives.

My name is Emma Rehfeld, and I am excited to sing with Larchmont Temple this coming year! I am originally from St. Louis, Missouri, but I have been living in the Hudson Valley for the past five years attending school. I graduated from Bard College with a BA in American Studies, and I wrote my thesis on the morality of using working animals in modern day America. I have been song leading professionally for seven years with all ages in a variety of Jewish contexts including mommy-and-me classes, religious schools, summer camps, congregational services, and the like. My two favorite parts about singing with groups are the community that grows from making music together, and the opportunity to empower people with all sorts of musical and non-musical backgrounds through song. Aside from song leading, I also work with horses in a number of ways, including training horses, driving carriages in Central Park, and most recently, was the horseback riding director at URJ Camp OSRUI this past summer. I can’t wait to meet everyone this year. Happy singing!

Mia Shapiro, Administrative Assistant to the Religious School and LT Clergy

Prior to joining Larchmont Temple, Mia spent 20 years as a medical social worker helping individuals of all ages and their families cope with the challenges of serious physical and mental illnesses. While working in the social work field, she continued her Jewish studies as a master's student and cantorial soloist and is thrilled to be contributing to the Jewish life of Larchmont Temple's congregational family.